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Show 744 1679·C/' v""V Pm . .Jl. Sea'· An Addrefs to Prottflants: VoL: I. THE SECOND PART. Five Ca•ital Evils tbat relaiO to the Ecclejiaflical State of Sea. '· ' thefe Kingdoms. · . . . , the Firfl Part of my .Addrefs relating to th7 Imrnor~lities HAvwg fim~ d1 and left it with the Civii.Magiflrat~. ~s, tn Confctence, of the Ttme br 'd do whofe peculiar Charge tt Is, and, I earneft· 1 tound my felf o 1g to ' that it may be his great Care effeaually ly and humbly d~fth rfbd pkay:nv felf to the Second Part of this Addrtjr, to rebuke t~em, d' 31 etace~ns ·us as Profefs'd Cbriftian.r and Proteflarrtr. that more tmm~ tatt/ 6'0~0 premife and do with much Sincerity declare, But before I begm, e ue ach of ~ny Pcrfon or Parry : I am weary that I in!end not utieo Ri~p~~ the World: It gains nothing, that is worth with feemg Jo 111 'h ~ hat 'tis our Dury to endeavour to foften and keeping; ~ut o~ten :u ffins, ; I rna !i eak the Truth, that which, to the win. Bur 1f, wu~ou~,O enc d to ihf prefent Settlement and future Fe~ belt of my Under 3(; mg, tel fhall by God's Help, deliver my felf wirh ltihceit yM oofd emfiyy ' pPoloa~i ~neoJ~sn ~rny d lntcgri:y, that beco[J;les a Chrillian, a Prote~ fiant, and an .EnglSJ(_hman.d Errors that relate to the &dejia.flieal State. or. Thofe Capttal 1115 :m . • · d which are fo inconfifient Witb. CChhurirflcuhtn- CaRpeabgdz~oyn oafn t dhe$eu rKef tgt~~fiaa:cy ' and that, above all, difpleafe Almighty God, are, . ft Mt~kin Opi~ions Articles of Faith, at leajl_ .giving .them tbt Repu~ ~It 'f Faith'£ a1rd making them rhe Bond of Chniban So~Jety. . tattoo o I .M, 'fl Second y' ' ntLtt' ng the Nature of True Faith, and tnlung tbatforFauh b'ch is not Gofpel-Faith. ..J'H' h tv ~hirdly Debajing t!Je trlle Value of A!o~:J.lity u_nder Pretence v; Jg er Things ,;ijloking much of tbc End of Chn!ls Commg. Four;hly, Preferring Human Authority above R.~fon an~ ~ruth. Fiflhly, Propagating Faith by Force, and Impojing Re!t~~ron by Worldly Compulfion. 'fhefe I rake .to be the Chuuh~Evi~, t~a~:i~:rJd0~ ~:~ht~;:g~or~e1R~ prevail'd even m th~fe Pans ~f t~ed t:h: Societie.r. in thefe Errors, and mnR Church hath chtefiy traben cethn M ther of them She from 'Whom they may in a Senfe, be fa1d to e 0 fi nd h • b . propagated ~ook' ~irrb, by whom they ~~r~o~rb~~~t thoa~hi!ugri:;eto e~~e. Nature of. 'Ch~'Jjf,:Z;~:~~lR:}1R~a}on of I~cformation from the. Papacy m our own Country, as had been and is our Dl!tY to conferve. . sea. 2 , Of Opinions pa/ling for Faith. Fl R S T That Opinionspafs for Faith, and are made A~ticlet of Faith, nnd ar; enjoy!ld to b'l embr"ac'd tU tbe.Bond ~~ Co~mumon. and we Th h's is fo let us take the moft 1mpart1al V1ew we can,S . . !hall fi~J i~ to be ~rU&, both of the National and many other Sdefl OCITh:~ An .Addrefs to 'P;>otejldnts. That l may be r:mderftood in the Signification of the Word Opiitiom, I ex.: plaiQ it th!lS : " Opinions are aU tbofe Propofirions or Conclufions made by H Men DOEhincs oj Faith and Articles of Communion, rvhicb cirbrr arc nor " £xprefly laid down in Scripture, or not fo evidemly Deduceable Font " Scripture, tU to leave no Oafljion of Dot~bt of the Trt~tb of them itt their u Mind.r tvbo ji11ctre!y and reverently heluve the Text: Or, /afl/yJtl(h 111 •' bavr 110 new or Credible Re\•elarion to vouch rhem. w That this is our CJfe, let th~ feveral Cunfejfion.r of F;tirh publifhed by almoft every Party irt England be p~rufed, apd you will find fuch Propoji~ tio11s rranflated into Dolhines. of Faith and Arricles of Communion, as ate, jirft, nor only not expref.r'd in Scriptllr~, bur, per aps nor ueU deJ11ce .. able from Script lire: And if one Party may be but ,believ'd againft ano· tlicr, we can wam no Evidence to prove what we fay. And, in the next Place, fuch as are, though not exprefs'd, yer it may be, deduceable as to the Matter of them, are eirher carried fo high, fpun fo fine, or fo difguifed by barbarous School. Terms, rh:J.t they are rather a Bone of Contention, than a Bond of Concord to Religious Societies. Yet this has been the Unhappinefs even of this Kingdom after all rhe Light of Reformation, which God hath gracionfly fent amongft us, Men ore to he received or t·e .. jefled for de11ying or owning of fJtcb Propo.ljrion~. Wilt tholl: he a Prefbyrerian ? Embrace and keep the Covenant, 1uhfcnbe rhe Weflmnfler·Con}rjjion aJ.ld Dirdlory: And f? on to the End of ~very Society, that &r~mnds Com· munion upon Conformay to fuch Propojit10n.r and .Arricle.r of .Fauh. What a Srir have we had in England about the \V'ord ·E~rllfJW;r~ He that fays it fignifies an Higher Office than n,.,;J7,~ fl1all have no Pan or Fellow. 1hip wirh us: On t'other Hand, they thar will debJfe Epi{copo.r toPrejb11te .. ro.r, and turn LeveUers or Degraders of E1ifcopal Dignity, fha11 be excommu. nicated. filenc'd, punilh't. Is not this plain Fafl? can any 'deny ir, rhat love Truth more than a Part!? The Fire kindled by this Conrenrion, hath warrn'd the Hands of Violence: It had been wel1, if Men had entertained Equal Zeal againft Impiety, and been but half as much Enrmies to Sin, as they have been againft one another on fuch Accounts. . If we look a litde back, we fhall find, that the Debate of Frce-WiUand unconditirmal Reprobation filled this Kingdom with Uncbaritab/eneft and Divijion. In the Arch·Epifco_pacy of Abbot (repared in hirnfelf a gaud Miln) whofoever held, that Chriit fo died for ali .Jllcn, rhar aU .Men might be fa~ ved, (if they would accept the Means) and that none were abfolurely de· creed co Eternal Reprobtuion, was reputed an Heretick, and Excom1mmicnted as an Enemy to the Free·Grace of God, whid1, it feems, at that Time of Day, lay in lteing nt~rrow. In the Reign of Arch-Bifhop Laud the Tide turned .. And thofe that held an abfolJtte Eleflion, and Reprobt~tion, without Regard had to the GotJd or Evil A[/ion1 of Men, and alferted, that Chrifl only died for the Elea, and not for all, rnuft he difcountenanced, difplaced and pointed at as Mrn ou~ of Fajhion, though at the fame Time Con{cirntiou.r, Sob~r and (at worft) miflaRen; and to be pitied rather than perlecuted ; and informed, not deftro,red., This Controverfie begat the Synod of Dort: He that reads the Epi.ftle.r of that Judicious Man J. Hale.r of Eaton Colledge, upon the Maner and Condu8: of that A/Jcmhly, wiU find Caufe of being fad at Heart; too many of them talking of Religion without the Spirit of ic Men •. perhaps~ leo~· ned in Books, but few of the Stickler.; gave any great Tt:ftJmony of the1r Proficiency in that Science, which is firfi pure, then ~e,~ceablc, gen(lc, ~nd eajie to he entreated. This Flame kindled between .lirnunun and Epifc"pnu, &c. for the 'Remonflrant.r, and Gomann, Sibrandur, &c. for rhe PredeJfm.arians, difiraftcd Holland not '!I little, and had an ill Influence upon rhe Affirr.r of England, at leaft fo far, as concerned the Church. J;Jut the m.ournful .. left Part ofth:a Hiftoty is the ill Ufage, Martini111 Cromu, the Bllhop of Lndaff, and others had ; who, though they were acknowledg'd to be found in the Faitb of rhofe Things, which generally followed .rheJudgmen~ CJf (t~fvill, .as to the maio Poinn comrovened, yec if at any T1m: they appc~ 5 c |
